Mass slaying of five people at university party heads 2016 trial list

A city man accused of committing the worst mass slaying in Calgary history will go to trial on five counts of first-degree murder next spring.

Matthew de Grood, 24, faces a two-week jury trial starting May 16 for fatally stabbing five young people on April 15, 2014, during a get-together celebrating the final day of classes at the University of Calgary.

It is the most prominent of several high-profile trials scheduled for the New Year at Calgary’s Court of Queen’s Bench.

Here is a capsule look at five cases, most of which either have multiple accused or victims, that will make headlines in 2016:

A sketch of Matthew de Grood, appearing in a Calgary court on Tuesday, April 22, 2014.Janice Fletcher /
THE CANADIAN PRESS

Matthew de Grood

The case will be heard by an out-of-town judge and an out-of-town Crown prosecutor as the accused’s father is a high-ranking city police officer. As the father may have to testify, defence lawyer Allan Fay and Crown Neil Wiburg of Edmonton wanted to avoid any potential bias.

Fay has indicated a number of admissions will be made to reduce the length of the trial and also said the question of whether his client was criminally responsible because of a mental disorder will be at the forefront. Wiberg has said it will be up to the defence to present the issue of mental capacity.

Rodica Radita, Emil Radita

A Calgary couple accused of starving their 15-year-old son to death nearly three years ago will face a jury trial also starting on May 16.

EmilRadita, 62, and Rodica Radita, 51, represented by lawyers Jim Lutz and Andrea Serink, respectively, are each charged with the first-degree murder of Alex Radita, who was found dead at their northwest Calgary family home in May 2013.

Tests confirmed the teen died from starvation and neglect, and complications linked to diabetes, police said after the Raditas were charged.

They also said the child suffered from neglect so severe that it was beyond the lesser charge of failing to provide the necessities of life.

When Alex was five, he was admitted to a British Columbia hospital extremely malnourished, with his abdomen extended, his limbs emaciated, his complexion pale and grey and his hair had begun to fall out.

He was immediately transferred to B.C. Children’s Hospital, where he spent significant time in the intensive-care unit. A social worker found the boy’s parents had failed to care for his diabetes.

Franz Cabrera is taken into custody in 2013 in connection with the murder of Lukas Strasser-Hird.Courtesy, Global News

Poice have said Strasser-Hird, was out with friends when they were confronted by a group at the downtown nightclub.

The groups were separated by bar staff, with Strasser-Hird‘s group taken through the club and ushered out the back door. His group was confronted again and a second brawl ensued, during which Strasser-Hird suffered life-threatening injuries. He died in hospital.

Will Rempel, a suspect in the Ryan Lane murder, is taken into the Court Services building in Calgary on Nov. 29, 2012.Leah Hennel /
Calgary Herald

Sheena Cuthill, Tim Rempel, Will Rempel

Wilhelm (Will) Rempel, his brother Timothy and sister-in-law Sheena face a six-week jury trial starting March 14 in the kidnapping and first-degree murder of Ryan Lane nearly three years ago.

All three suspects were arrested and charged with causing the death of Lane, who was last seen in February 2012. His remains were found nine months later.

Police have said the killing was motivated by a custody dispute between Lane, 24, and Cuthill, who had a daughter from a previous relationship.

James Rajbhandari, represented by lawyer Alain Hepner, is accused of killing Lewis, 37, a married father of four and a pioneer of MMA fighting in the province, following an argument at a birthday party Sept. 1, 2012.

Rajbhandari was charged second-degree murder the following January, after an extensive investigation.

Investigators believe that shortly after 3 a.m. that morning, about a dozen people got involved in an altercation in the hallway of an apartment building in the 1000 block of 16th Avenue N.W.

Lewis was rushed to hospital with a stab wound and was declared dead on arrival. A knife was recovered from the scene.

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